Romeo's Adventures of Sleeping Beauty Read Along
This is the story of "Romeo's Adventures of Sleeping Beauty". You can read along with me in your book. You will know when it is time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this. (chimes ring) Let's begin now. In a faraway land, long ago, lived King Stefan and his fair Queen. One day a daughter was born and they called her Aurora. They named her after the dawn, for she filled their lives with sunshine. (chimes ring, turn page) From near and far the people came, bringing their gifts to celebrate the royal birth. Romeo and his friends have arrived to the kingdom and they entered the Castle and watched the celebration without being seen. The most honored guests were Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather. Each could give the child a single gift. Flora blessed the child with beauty. Fauna gave the gift of song that she might sing like a nightingale. (chimes ring, turn page) Little Merryweather was about to give her gift when suddenly there was a roar of thunder and a gust of wind. A blinding flash of light filled the great hall, and before them stood the evil Maleficent. "Well, King Stefan. I was quite upset at not receiving an invitation. I, too, have a gift to bestow on the child. The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty. But before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and die! (evil laugh)" "Oh, no!" The cry rose from every heart. Romeo and his friends became shocked. But before anyone could seize Maleficent and make her take back her evil curse, she had vanished in a flash of flame. What a terrible situation! But there was hope. Merryweather still had her gift to give. "Your Majesties, I cannot undo this wicked curse, but I can help." (chimes ring, turn page) Merryweather waved her magic wand over the cradle. "Sweet Princess, if all this should come to pass, not in death, but just in sleep, the fateful prophecy you will keep. And from this slumber you shall awake, when true love's kiss the spell shall break." (chimes ring, turn page) But King Stefan was still fearful of his daughter's life. "This does not take away the evil threat. We must take action! Let every spindle and spinning wheel in the country be burned!" That night the countryside was aglow with the light of burning spinning wheels. Meanwhile, the three good fairies were trying to think of a better plan. While they were thinking, Romeo and his friends walked up to them and greeted to them. They told them what they saw and asked if they could help out. Merryweather told the others, "A bonfire won't stop Maleficent. There must be some way we can protect Aurora from that wicked old witch! I know. Let us raise the Princess in a secret hiding place. We will keep her safe until her sixteenth birthday." Sadly the King and Queen agreed. (chimes ring, turn page) Disguised as simple peasant women, the three good fairies and Romeo and his friends took the young Princess to a tiny cottage deep in the woods. They called her Briar Rose instead of Aurora, and never told her she was a Princess. So for sixteen years the whereabouts of Aurora remained a mystery. On her sixteenth birthday, Briar Rose was picking berries when she chanced to meet a handsome young man riding in the forest. He was very kind. She was rather shy. She was not supposed to speak with strangers, but Briar Rose felt as if she knew him, for she had often dreamed of meeting someone so charming. She asked him to come to the cottage that evening and meet her family and friends. Then Briar Rose rushed home to tell Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Romeo, and his friends her happy news. She was falling in love. (chimes ring, turn page) When Briar Rose told the fairy godmothers, Romeo, and his friends her true love, they grew sad. "Since it's your sixteenth birthday, we must tell you the truth now. You are really the Princess Aurora. Your marriage to Prince Phillip will take place this very evening in your father's castle. You can never see your handsome stranger again." Briar Rose burst into tears. "(sighs) I-I don’t what to say to this." said Friar Lawrence. Meanwhile the young stranger rode off to tell his father that he had met the girl of his dreams. Actually the young man was Prince Phillip. When he told he father King Hubert about Briar Rose, the King became very upset. (chimes ring, turn page) "What? You've fallen in love with some peasant girl? I won't have it! I promised my neighbor King Stefan that you would marry his daughter Aurora! You're a Prince! And you're going to marry a Princess!" But Phillip's mind was made up. Off he rode to the cottage in the woods to meet his true love, Briar Rose. But she was not there. The three good fairies and Romeo and his friends had carefully escorted her to King Stefan's castle. The poor Princess should have been happy, but all she could think of was her lost love. Merryweather led her up to her room. "Cheer up, dear. You can't meet your father looking so glum. We'll leave you alone for a few moments to dry your tears." (chimes ring, turn page) While everyone waited outside, a mysterious voice began calling to the sad Princess. "Aurora. Aurora." In a trance she followed the haunting sound up a winding stairway to the top of the tower. Off in the distance Merryweather heard the evil chant. "Listen! It's Maleficent!" "MALEFICENT!" shouted Juliet. "Don’t go that way!" yelled Kissy. The fairies and our heroes rushed through the palace corridors searching for the Princess. "Rose! Rose! Don't touch anything!" But Maleficent's curse was far too powerful. The evil fairy called out from the shadows. "Touch the spindle. Touch it, I say!" As if in a dream, Aurora stretched out her hand to touch the shining spindle. (chimes ring, turn page) The fairies and our heroes found Maleficent, but alas, it was too late. "You poor simple fools. Thinking you could defeat me. Me, mistress of all evil. Well here's your precious Princess." Maleficent pulled back her long cape to reveal the beautiful Aurora lying in a deep sleep. Maleficent disappeared in a blaze of light. Her curse was complete. Now only true love's kiss could save Aurora. Merryweather knew they must do something. "No one must ever know of these wicked deed. We'll put everyone to sleep until Rose awakens." As the fairies cast their spell over the Castle, they heard King Hubert say, "My son Phillip has lost his head. He fell in love with some girl named Briar Rose." Flora realized that young stranger Briar Rose had met in the forest was really Prince Phillip. (chimes ring, turn page) But miles away, Maleficent was plotting. "Prince Phillip is the only person who can break my evil curse. I must find him at once." She and her demon army captured Phillip and locked him in a deep dungeon. But the good fairies and Romeo and Friar Lawrence flew to Phillip's rescue and freed him. They armed him with a magic sword and led him to the sleeping Princess. Maleficent was furious when she found that the Prince had escaped. Determined to stop him, she turned herself into a fiery Dragon. But her evil could not overcome Phillip's magic sword and his true love. Maleficent was destroyed. "She is gone!" said Friar Lawrence. (chimes ring, turn page) With the help of the three good fairies and Romeo and Friar Lawrence, Prince Phillip found the tiny tower where his sleeping beauty lay. There, dreaming of her true love, was the Princess Aurora the very same girl he had fallen in love with. He gave her a kiss. She opened her eyes and smiled. Maleficent's spell was broken. "Phew! She’s alive! I thought she was dead." said Kissy. Soon the whole castle was awake and the joyous wedding celebration began. And so the Sleeping Beauty and her own true love were married and lived happily ever after. That was the end of the story. If you would like to hear it again, turn the tape over.